Schumer, Gillibrand urge New York to keep its fusion voting system

ALBANY — New York should not end its system of fusion voting that lets minor parties play a major role in the state’s politics, a slew of federal officials argued in a letter that's being sent to state legislators this week.

“It was under those laws, and with the strong support and endorsements from New York’s Working Families Party (WFP) that New York Democrats won three tough Congressional seats as well as picking up a historic eight state Senate seats, winning the largest Senate majority in generations," the letter states.

The letter was written "collaboratively" by the WFP and several of the signatories. It comes amid increasing agitation that New York should end the system that lets candidates run on the lines of multiple parties.

Some of the opponents have argued that the system drives candidates away from the political center, pointing to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's tense negotiations to secure the WFP's line in 2014 and his challenge from the party-backed Cynthia Nixon last year. Other critics have said that the cross-endorsements offered by the Conservative and Independence Parties mean that the system actually benefits Republicans more.

“There are solid arguments that it has watered down and weakened the Democratic Party vote over the years, certainly in key competitive areas like the suburbs and upstate New York,” state Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs recently told the Daily News.

But the letter signed by the federal officials argues that the system is actually a boon for their party.

“Banning fusion is both substantively misguided and costly for Democrats,” it says. “It could threaten to put marginal members, who won by just thousands of votes, in jeopardy, and also make it harder to gain more seats in 2020. Without fusion, it leaves the WFP ballot line open to be hijacked by opportunistic spoilers and damages Democratic prospects.”

It would likely be difficult to end fusion voting. Cuomo proposed disempowering the minor parties in 2013, but he said at the time that he did not support fully ending cross-endorsements. The Democrats who control the Assembly have never been supportive of the idea, and while the new Democratic majority in the state Senate has not yet had internal discussions on the topic, it includes seven freshmen who won their primaries with the WFP’s support.

There were some rumblings that the topic might be part of an early session election reform package, but it didn't happen. And that’s for the best, the federal officials say.

“Nationally, Democrats in the House and Senate are prioritizing expanding our democracy: making it easier to register and vote, ending gerrymandering and voter purging, and other forms of voter suppression,” the letter says. “It would be a serious misstep for our home state to go in the opposite direction by banning fusion. We urge you, therefore, not to support efforts to undermine New York’s fusion voting system.”